


Numb

by Gabberwocky



Series: Marinette Detests Gabriel Agreste [5]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien's POV, Child Neglect, Cinnamon Roll needs a hug, F/M, Gabriel is a shit father, I hope I wrote him right, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, numb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-03-11
Packaged: 2018-05-26 03:15:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6221386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gabberwocky/pseuds/Gabberwocky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrien survives years under his father's control. </p><p>Songfic- "Numb" by Linkin Park</p>
            </blockquote>





	Numb

**Author's Note:**

> This is Adrien's POV for the whole series and contains ideas from stories both written and unwritten. It branches throughout the series and doesn't have a chronological place. 
> 
> Written while listening to "Numb" by Linkin Park  
> Song Lyrics in bold italics.

**_I'm tired of being what you want me to be_ **

**_Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface_ **

 

Adrien laid out on his bed, staring up at his ceiling. He was just so  _ tired _ . His father made him go to another photoshoot during school today and he had to put on the mask of “perfect Adrien Agreste” because that’s what his father wanted. He just didn’t see any way out. He turned over onto his side, facing Plagg. 

“I feel so lost, Plagg. I can’t tell who I am anymore. Am I Gabriel Agreste’s perfect son or am I the funny and quirky hero of Paris?”

 

**_I don't know what you're expecting of me_ **

**_Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes_ **

 

“What do you want from me?!” Adrien screamed into the empty hallway. 

There was no response. Of course there wasn’t. Gabriel Agreste didn’t seem to care about his son past an heir for the fashion business (which Adrien did not care about) and therefore made his son learn all about this industry. 

This industry where it was more important that he was following in his father’s footsteps than becoming his own person. 

 

**_Every step that I take is another mistake to you_ **

 

Chat Noir ran from rooftop to rooftop knowing that if his father ever found out about his alter ego, he would blow up and Adrien would never be free again.

 

**_I've become so numb I can't feel you there_ **

**_Become so tired so much more aware_ **

 

It was only after he met Marinette that Adrien realized how much he’d been missing by cutting off his emotions. 

 

**_I'm becoming this all I want to do_ **

**_Is be more like me and be less like you_ **

 

Slowly, the mask of Adrien Agreste began to fall around Marinette, Nino, and Alya. He was  _ safe,  _ he could be  _ himself.  _

 

**_Can't you see that you're smothering me?_ **

**_Holding too tightly, afraid to lose control_ **

 

Adrien couldn’t breathe. He was getting pulled out of school and put back into home schooling? What? Why? 

“You’re becoming reckless, your grades are slipping.”

No. No. His grades were fine. There was no reason for his father to pull him out. 

 

**_Because everything that you thought I would be_ **

**_Has fallen apart right in front of you_ **

 

“NO! You can’t! Father, please! You can’t take me out of school!” 

“Adrien, stop. It is final. This is what’s happening.” 

“I won’t let you! I won’t let you control me like this anymore!”

Adrien ran out of the cold mansion with tears in his eyes.

 

**_Every step that I take is another mistake to you_ **

 

Chat Noir’s instincts brought the distraught Adrien from the cold of the Agreste mansion to the warmth of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. He knew that he was going to be grounded when he went back… 

 

**_And every second I waste is more than I can take_ **

 

...but all he could do was seek out the warmth of Marinette’s hug as he fell apart in her arms.

 

**_I've become so numb I can't feel you there_ **

**_Become so tired so much more aware_ **

 

It was only after seeing the Dupain-Chengs that Adrien realized he didn’t really have a father. That he never really knew the warmth of a real family. 

 

**_I'm becoming this all I want to do_ **

**_Is be more like me and be less like you_ **

 

He had figured it out. He was  _ both.  _ He was Adrien  _ and  _ Chat Noir. Neither was perfect, but that was enough.

 

**_And I know I may end up failing too_ **

**_But I know you were just like me_ **

**_With someone disappointed in you_ **

 

Sometimes he stumbled, fell, but  _ she  _ was always there to pick him back up. Always. 

Sometimes he wondered who had picked Gabriel (he had stopped thinking of him as “father” a while ago) up before he pushed that thought away.

 

**_I've become so numb I can't feel you there_ **

**_Become so tired so much more aware_ **

 

Adrien smiled. He  _ smiled.  _ It had been so long. He could  _ feel.  _ He could  _ love _ . It was amazing.

 

**_I'm becoming this all I want to do_ **

**_Is be more like me and be less like you_ **

 

He made a vow to his wife’s growing stomach. 

“I will  _ always  _ be there for you.  _ Always. _ ”

 

**_I've become so numb I can't feel you there_ **

**_I'm tired of being what you want me to be_ **

 

“You don’t own me, Gabriel Agreste.”

 

**_I've become so numb I can't feel you there_ **

**_I'm tired of being what you want me to be_ **

  
“YOU DO NOT OWN ME!”


End file.
